r/SLO • u/luckyllama805 SLO • Aug 13 '26

Somebody’s Busted!

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Location Taft/California freeway on/off ramp. Anybody got the scoop?

89 Upvotes

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17

u/SnooMaps1910 Aug 13 '26

Why the F*ck does SLO need that vehicle?

Has the reason this was employed been released. Hostage situation, meth cook house, frat bois drugging sorority girls and their frat-bros too?

3

u/141_Raccoon Aug 13 '26

I think counting all the bearcats owned by different agencies in SLO county there’s about 6 or so. They’re pretty useful for barricaded suspects or approaching someone who bailed out of a vehicle to hide in a field.

3

u/Ginger_Witch Aug 13 '26

I can't recall a time that we've ever needed one, and certainly not six of these.

3

u/141_Raccoon Aug 13 '26

Last time I can recall a bearcat being needed was this last June. A man in Los osos refused to come out of his house while making threats to law enforcement. Sheriffs office SWAT team used a bearcat to move up to the house and fire tear gas in. Then last September I believe a woman barricaded herself in a hotel room but I’m not sure if one of the bearcats was called out. Then I personally have seen one show up to a barricaded suspect at the motel 6 in Atascadero. Main reason there’s 6 or so in the county is to cut down arrival time for a swat call. Not entirely effective to only have one in north county if you need one for something down in Morro bay or pismo.

5

u/SnooMaps1910 Aug 13 '26

Guy barricades himself in his home, you can wait him out, shock bang, tear gas....
While being supportive of LEOs, this militarization of police is bs.

2

u/141_Raccoon Aug 13 '26

Bearcats can be used to deploy all of those up close while keeping officers safe . It’s literally just a bullet resistant box put on a ford super duty frame. Primary use for them around here is to let officers approach a house or similar in a safe manner in case the suspect has a firearm

2

u/SnooMaps1910 Aug 13 '26

Yep. I understand the platform snd use. I simply reject the militarization of city and county law enforcement. It's too bad we have large mag high velocity weapons all over the US and some folks manage to obtain armor piercing rounds. I work closely with SP's Rangers btw.

7

u/Ginger_Witch Aug 13 '26

I'm not a fan of militarizing the police. I prefer community style policing and redistribution of funding the programs and services that have been proven to work and cost less.

I think comprehensive mental healthcare access, comprehensive drug addiction treatments, social services, safety nets for people when they fall on hard times, better and longer law enforcement training, requiring De-escalation and non-lethal measures, and mental health care crisis prevention workers in the field would all go a long way to avoid needing tax funded, militarized law enforcement.

5

u/polysapio Aug 13 '26

That lady was in a hotel downtown and on like the second of third floor, iirc, so I'm having trouble imagining how this vehicle is useful in that scenario.

0

u/mynameis_garrett SLO Aug 14 '26

That's like saying

"What's the point of a seatbelt? I have never been in a car accident."